Updates, advisories and surprises

Apogee Ent quarterly results rise, affirms 2006 EPS view (6:47 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Apogee Enterprises Inc.
APOG, +0.23%
after Wednesday's closing bell posted second-quarter net earnings of $5.51 million, or 20 cents a share, vs. $4.32 million, or 16 cents a share, in the same period last year. Revenue at the glass products company rose to $173.7 million from $151 million. Minneapolis-based Apogee reaffirmed its 2006 forecast for earnings from continuing operations of 74 cents to 80 cents a share and said it expects revenue for the year to rise between 9% and 11%.

CORRECT: Red Robin increases 3Q, 2005 EPS forecasts (5:04 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc.
RRGB, +1.69%
after Wednesday's closing bell reaffirmed its third-quarter and full-year 2005 revenue forecasts and increased its outlook for per-share results for the periods. The restaurant company said it still expects revenue of $113 million to $115 million in the third quarter. It now sees earnings of 33 cents to 35 cents a share vs. a previous forecast of 28 cents to 30 cents a share. For the year, Red Robin still expects to report sales of $487 million to $491 million. It now expects a per-share profit of $1.69 to $1.72 a share compared with previous expectations of $1.64 to $1.67 a share.

Clarcor quarterly results rise; ups 2005 EPS forecast (4:34 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Clarcor Inc.
CLC, +6.25%
after Wednesday's closing bell reported third-quarter earnings of $20.9 million, or 40 cents a share, vs. $15.9 million, or 31 cents a share, in the same period last year. Revenue rose to $216.4 million from $206.2 million. The Franklin, Tenn.-based maker of mobile, industrial and environmental filtration products and consumer and industrial packaging products also increased its full-year 2005 per-share earnings forecast to $1.38 to $1.42, excluding any impact from Hurricane Katrina. Its previous forecast was for a per-share profit of $1.32 to $1.38.

California Micro boosts financial outlook (4:11 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- California Micro Devices
CAMD
late Wednesday slightly boosted its fiscal second-quarter financial outlook due to better-than-expected demand from its mobile-phone customers. The Milpitas, Calif.-based chip maker raised its sales guidance to between $16.5 and $17.5 million, compared to previous guidance of $16 million to $17 million. It forecast earnings per share in the range of 5 cents to 6 cents, up from previous guidance of 4 cents to 5 cents.

Manatron shares fall as co. swings to quarterly loss (2:06 PM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Manatron
MANA
fell 10.5% to $8.58 on Wednesday after the Kalamazoo, Mich., software company posted a loss of $738,000, or 17 cents a share, for the first quarter, down from a year-ago profit of $1.1 million, or 25 cents a share. The company, which supplies software products for local governments, cited substantially higher costs than previously expected for the loss due to longer implementation cycles for its products. Manatron added that its board increased its stock buyback program to $1 million over the next year from $500,000.

American Express CFO lauds MasterCard IPO for transparency (1:35 PM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- American Express
AXP, +0.06%
CFO Gary Crittenden told analysts Wednesday at the Lehman Brothers Financial Services Conference that the upcoming initial public offering for MasterCard will help improve transparency at the rival credit card firm. "The one good thing that will happen from our perspective is that they will be run as a public company, so the transparency that they will have to give to the market and to the bank associations will be a good thing," Crittenden said. "We would love to have that be held up to public scrutiny, and it will be now under this circumstance. But that is really about all I should say about it probably."

Lagardere media div sales rise 2.8% to 3.73B euros in 1H (12:57 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- French media group Lagardere(FR:013021)on Wednesday said first-half revenues in its media division came in at 3.73 billion euros, up 6.6%, or 2.8% on a like-for-like basis. The company also revised its full-year forecast for the growth division's recurring earnings before interest and taxes to between 5% and 9%. The forecast had previously stood at between 4% and 8%.

Delta Pete shares slump after quarterly report (12:45 PM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Delta Petroleum
DPTR
shares fell 4% to $18.96 on Wednesday after the company reported earnings of $1.4 million, or 3 cents a share, for its fiscal fourth quarter, on revenue of $28.3 million. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for a profit of 15 cents a share in the June period on revenue of $30.9 million.

Lehman sees profit up by 10% in '05, up by 8% in '06 (11:00 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- David Goldfarb, chief administrative officer of Lehman Brothers
LEH
said on a conference call he sees corporate earnings increasing by 10% in 2005 and 8% in 2006. "Our outlook for the global economy remains positive," he said. "On drivers of growth, we continue to believe the pace of growth in the capital markets will exceed the overall economy. In terms of mergers and acquisitions, activity has picked up significantly, and we believe this will continue. Companies are still looking to grow, and strategic M&A is an extremely viable option to achieve these growth objectives." He said the firm will likely grow organically, but he didn't rule out an acquisition "with the right opportunity."

GE affirms earnings forecasts despite hurricane (9:39 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - General Electric Co.
GE, +2.86%
affirmed its earnings forecasts for the third quarter and 2005 Wednesday, despite expected losses at GE Insurance Solutions from Hurricane Katrina. "We continue to see good fundamentals across the rest of our businesses and our earnings guidance remains consistent with prior expectations" of 43 cents to 44 cents a share for the third quarter and $1.80 to $1.83 a share for 2005, said Jeff Immelt, GE's chief executive. 2005 cash flow would be at the "high end" of $17 billion to $18 billion prediction. Shares of GE rose early Wednesday to $34.38, up 10 cents.

Hercules sees 5c earns hit on Hurricane Katrina (9:17 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Hercules Inc.
HPC, +3.81%
Wednesday that it's experiencing higher raw material, utility and transporation costs due to Hurricane Katrina that it expect to reduce earnings per share for the balance of the year by roughly 5 cents. The company also its Mississippi paper chemicals production facility sustained relatively minor damage from the storm. Hercules plans to implement price increases and freight surcharges to offset the cost increases. Hercules' shares closed Tuesday at $12.35, down 36 cents.

CORRECT: Brady Corp. net matches estimates, sales gain (9:12 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Brady Corp.
BRC, -0.26%
on Wednesday said fourth-quarter profit came to $16.1 million, or 32 cents a share, versus $16.1 million, or 33 cents a share, last year. Sales for the three months ended July 31 rose to $210 million from $185.5 million in last year's fourth quarter. Earnings matched the average estimate of three analysts polled by Thomson First Call. For fiscal 2006, Brady forecast earnings at $1.78 to $1.82 a share, against analysts' view for $1.85 a share. The company's stock closed Tuesday at $33.30, down 56 cents. (Updates to correct stock price.)

NetSol Technologies soars 30% after posting 2005 profit (8:57 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- NetSol Technologies
NTWK, +0.83%
jumped 64 cents, or 30%, to $2.75 a share in pre-market trades Wednesday after the Calabasas, Calif. information technology services company reported a fiscal 2005 profit of $663,325, or 6 cents a share, compared with a loss of $2.6 million, or 33 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue for the year rose 116% to $12.4 million, ahead of its $11 million forecast.

IP: Katrina an unknown negative for second half of 2005 (8:36 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - International Paper Inc.
IP, -0.45%
said Wednesday none of its facilities was damaged directly by Hurricane Katrina, though the impact was "not fully quantifiable." The storm would negatively affect third quarter and fourth quarter earnings, with chemical shortages curtailing output at some mills, and fuel shortages and hiring by federal emergency authorities drawing off labor available for logging, IP said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

M/I Homes re-affirms FY05 earns view (8:28 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- M/I Homes Inc.
MHO, -1.00%
Wednesday reaffirmed its outlook for earnings of $6.75 to $6.95 a share in fiscal 2005, and forecast earnings of more than $7.65 a share in fiscal 2006. The average estimates of analysts polled by Thomson First Call are for profits of $6.88 and $7.22 a share in the respective periods. The Columbus, Ohio-based home builder said new contracts increased 23% to 744 in the July-August period. The stock closed Tuesday at $55.34, down 49 cents.

Central Parking eyes UK issues; puts Katrina cost at $200K (8:22 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Central Parking Corp.,
C.PC, +0.24%
the Nashville, Tenn., provider of parking and transportation-management services, said it is reviewing "issues concerning certain related-party transactions" and accounts receivable in its U.K. operations. Central said the matters may cause "a negative financial impact," which it can't immediately estimate. The U.K. operations generated some 2.7% of revenue through the first three quarters of Central's fiscal year. Central also estimated that damage to its facilities by Hurricane Katrina will hurt fourth-quarter earnings by $200,000. Central also said it would sell its 50% interest in its Mexico joint venture. Central expects to take a $1.7 million non-cash fourth-quarter loss on the sale. Terms call for Central to receive $325,000 cash plus a secured promissory note of $3.7 million to repay the venture's debt to the company.

Lehman tops profit, revenue estimates (8:21 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Lehman Brothers
LEH
on Wednesday reported third-quarter earnings of $879 million, or $2.94 a share, up 74% from $505 million, or $1.71 a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue was $3.9 billion, up from $2.6 billion. A survey of analysts by Thomson First Call forecast earnings of $2.37 a share and revenue of $3.4 billion for the bank. Lehman cited record net revenue in investment banking and investment management. Shares fell 5 cents to $112.28 on Tuesday.

Danaher reiterates profit outlook (8:11 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Danaher Corp.
DHR, -0.07%
on Wednesday maintained its third-quarter profit target of 66-71 cents a share and 2005 earnings of $2.73-$2.80 a share. A survey of analysts by Thomson First Call is forecasting earnings of $2.76 a share for 2005 and 70 cents a share for the third quarter. Shares of Danaher fell 65 cents to $54.90 on Tuesday.

OptionsXpress Aug. trades up 87% from year-ago (7:39 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- OptionsXpress
OXPS
on Wednesday said daily average revenue trades were 19,600 in August, up 87% from the year-ago period, but down 2% from July. The Chicago-based options broker added 5,000 net new customer accounts for a total of 143,000, up 67% from the year-ago period and 4% higher than July. Shares fell 5 cents to $17.28 on Tuesday.

M.D.C.'s 3Q profit likely to miss due to delay in closings (6:18 AM ET) WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- M.D.C. Holdings Inc.
MDC, +0.84%
cautioned on the housebuilder's profit outlook for the third quarter, saying delays in home closings mean that earnings "may be below the lowest analyst estimate" of $2.65 a share as tracked by Thomson First Call. The consensus profit outlook stands at $2.79 a share. M.D.C. also said it anticipates profit growth in the fourth quarter will more than offset any third-quarter shortfall prompted by construction delays in Arizona and Nevada. Closings on some 450 homes in these markets are now expected to slip into the fourth quarter, the company said. Against this backdop, M.D.C. said it expects to exceed the First Call-derived average 2005 profit forecast of $10.44 a share. The company's home orders for July-August totaled 2,624, up 33% from the same period in 2004. Shares of M.D.C. Holdings lost 70 cents to end Tuesday's trading at $79.19.

A/S Streamship ups earnings outlook on tanker shipments (6:09 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Shipping company A/S Steamship
TRMD, +6.20%
said pre-tax earnings excluding dividends and the sale of vessels will be around $200 million, from earlier expectations between $165 million and $175 million, due to rates from product tankers increasing more than expected following Hurricane Katrina.

Tullow Oil first-half profit climbs on deals, energy prices (2:34 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Independent oil and gas explorer Tullow Oil(UK:TLW)on Wednesday said first-half pre-tax profit climbed to 91.4 million pounds from 17.3 million pounds, with revenue jumping to 201.4 million pounds from 76.5 million pounds on strong oil and gas prices, the 2004 acquisition of Energy Africa, a three-month contribution from Schooner and Ketch and rising production. Group reserve replacement was 97%, it added. "The deals completed in recent years have been successfully integrated, our assets are showing strong organic growth and we have developed an exploration portfolio which combines lower risk 'snuggle' projects with exciting high impact opportunities," said CEO Aidan Heavey.

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